I'll Wait for You
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: Nico's running late, and even though Eli promised that she'd wait, Nico is determined to get home ASAP. [Art by Pozzlesulver.]


Gritting her teeth in frustration, Nico stared out the window in disbelief. The snow had really been coming down, and now it was stacked high as far as the eye could see. If she tried to walk through that blizzard, she'd be liable to get lost until Spring. That was why it would've been so much easier to take a plane back home. However, there was a little complication involving that snow...

Slamming her fist against the airport window, she whirled around and stormed back to the ticket desk, making sure to slam her fists against that as well. "Why the hell can't the planes take off?! It's just snow!" The poor woman behind the desk had already been subjected to Nico's tirade only a couple minutes before, so there wasn't anything new to tell.

"Ma'am, the snow is three feet deep out there. Our planes are grounded until further notice." That wasn't going to be good enough for Nico, though.

"Don't you guys have flamethrowers around here or something?! Use a shovel, I don't care!" The ticket lady had to exercise every ounce of her patience to avoid getting fired.

"Ma'am... We do not have any flamethrowers, and we do not have the manpower to shovel out all of that snow. You're just going to have to wait like the rest of the people here."

"No, fuck that." Grumbling, Nico whirled away from the desk and grabbed her phone. Everyone working her was useless. "An important idol like myself has no time to wait. I'm just going to drive home." The ticket lady quietly sighed in relief, hoping that this loud gremlin would drive off a cliff or something. As for that gremlin, she needed to call someone and let them know what was going on.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end sounded faint, like they were just waking up. "Nico?"

"Eli, darling, bad news." Nico's voice shook a little as she spoke, but she forced it away with her usual dosage of confidence. "The snow's really coming down and my flight's been grounded. Apparently they don't have flamethrowers here." She shot a glare at the ticket lady, who was no longer looking her way. "But I'm gonna rent a car and get home as fast as I can."

Her heart skipped a beat when Eli laughed on the other line. "Don't do anything foolish, Nico. You don't need to rush back with all that snow. I've waited before, you know?" Nico could almost sense Eli smiling, though she couldn't see her. "Remember last Christmas?"

"Ugh, do I ever." Nico groaned at the memory. "Rin got us pulled over by the cops when she climbed on top of my car and tried to surf on it."

"If I recall, you were the one who suggested she do it."

"Well why did she choose then to listen to me?" Okay, so maybe she'd been a bit at fault. Just a bit, though. The problem was the date: Christmas. She'd been late getting Rin back to her own family, and then later still getting to her own. When she got there, however, all of the presents were still wrapped. Everyone had waited until she got there before starting. "You all really didn't have to wait for me."

"We were going to wait, Nico. I've always waited for you every step of the way. Today's not going to be any different." Her voice was still faint, but it was full of warmth. "I'll wait for you, Nico."

"Mm... Alright, alright, I know you will, ya sap." They both laughed, then bid each other I love yous and goodbyes before hanging up. Immediately Nico's smile faded into a frown, her grip tightening slightly on her phone. Putting the device back into her purse, she raced off to luggage claims. She was getting back home, no matter what.

* * *

Nico shivered and huffed as she dragged her suitcase through three feet of snow. It was a lot more difficult than she'd let herself believe. She'd already tripped and fallen three times, but each time she jumped - well, struggled - right back up, grabbing her suitcase and trying again. It took way too long to reach the rental car place, but finally she made it, opening the door and collapsing inside with relief.

"Close the door! Were you raised in a barn?" An angry-looking woman glared at Nico from her seat, and even though she was already exhausted, Nico wanted to jump up and fight her. Unfortunately, that probably wasn't a good idea, so instead she acquiesced and dragged herself and her suitcase inside, with the door closing behind her.

"Who put a cactus in your pantie drawer?" She snarled, walking past her and over to the counter. "Excuse me? I need to rent a car."

"What? Out in _this_ snowstorm?" The guy behind the counter stared at her incredulously. He didn't even know why they were open in the first place. "Are you crazy?"

"Yes. Now, are you gonna rent me a car or not?" Sighing, he shrugged and went to grab a set of keys. Technically he couldn't say no to her, so if she wanted to go out there and die, it was on her, not him. Whoever was her next of kin better have enough money to pay for the damages the car was sure to get, though.

After paying and signing the papers, Nico grabbed the keys and rushed back out into the snow, thanking the guy over her shoulder as she went. Once again she was forced to trudge through the disastrous weather, but her strides were purposeful as she kept pushing herself until she reached the designated car.

She unlocked the car and tossed her suitcase in the backseat, then fell into her own seat. Snow fell onto the ground around her feet as she turned on the car, twisting the dials until she was blasting warm air directly onto her body. "Gods, it's cold!" She hugged her arms around her body in a desperate attempt to stay warm, but quickly remembered that there was somewhere she needed to be. Grabbing her phone out of her purse, she tossed it on the seat next to her before gripping the wheel and hitting the gas. There was no time to dawdle around in the lot.

It wasn't easy driving through all that snow. She had no way of knowing if there was something hidden beneath that white blanket that would pop a tire or something, but it wasn't going to stop her. Well, maybe a popped tire would. Best not to think about that, though. While she was driving as fast as she could go, which wasn't all that fast due to the weather, she picked up her phone and called Eli again.

"You're driving home, aren't you?" Before she could even say anything, Eli was already on point with her observations.

"Absolutely. I told you I'd get home, and that's what I'm doing. I'll be there at... Well, at some point."

"Just don't hurt yourself while getting here, okay?" Her voice took on a more serious tone. "You remember when we had our first child?"

"Like I'd forget that." Nico scoffed, trying to make sure most of her attention was on the road signs so that she didn't lose the road itself. "I'm not _that_ old yet, darling."

"Yes yes, I know. You've been twenty-one for some years now." She could imagine Eli sticking her tongue out at the phone, so she did it right back. That... probably looked really stupid. Good thing she was the only one crazy enough to try driving in this weather. "What I mean is, that baby was ready to born before you got there. He needed to wait until his mama arrived, though."

Nico let out a soft laugh, feeling a single tear slide down her cheek. She wanted to wipe it away, but her hands were occupied at the moment. "Yeah, you really held on for awhile, huh? I did make it, though." It had been amazing to watch their child be birthed into the world, and she had been so glad that she'd been able to get there before it was too late. "I made it just in time then, and I'll be making it again tonight."

"Heh, I know you will, Nico. Our child still needs his mama, though, so don't go crashing into any ditches or anything, okay? Promise me."

"Yeah yeah, I promise you. Both I and the car will be getting back in one piece."

"Good." Her voice seemed softer, but that warmth was still there, as warm as the day Nico had confessed to her. "I love you, Nico."

"I love you too, Eli. Always." They hung up, with Nico even more determined to get there as fast as she could. Why couldn't they have sold cars with dual-mounted flamethrowers? Now _there_ was an idea. Without those, though, she just had to plow on through the snow as fast as she could.

* * *

The drive took hours and hours. Though her stomach twisted and growled in protest, and despite her eyes occasionally struggling to stay open, she refused to stop. There was no way she was going to waste time stopping at some diner for food and to pass out on the table. Sure, Eli said not to do anything dangerous, but she wouldn't have to know. As long as she got back in one piece, which she was pretty sure was going to happen.

It was around midnight when she finally got back, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw those familiar lights. She parked the car and shut it down, jumping out and nearly falling into another large bank of snow. Luckily, she stayed on her feet, slamming the car door shut and barely remember to lock it on the run. The suitcase could stay in the backseat: she'd be back for it.

She ran in through the doors, pushing through her utter exhaustion and ignoring the curious stares she got as she collapsed against the wall. Reaching out for the 'up' button, she pressed it in and waited for the elevator. She'd tried to convince Eli that the first floor was better for getting there quicker, but nooo, her wife just had to enjoy the view from the second floor. The elevator came down with a 'ding', and Nico practically threw herself inside.

She pressed the button for the second floor, then repeatedly pressed it until the doors started to close. Yes, she knew that pressing it multiple times didn't make it go any faster. She'd heard that before. It just needed to go faster to reach her standards. Neither the doors closing nor the ride up were fast enough for her, since she was tapping her foot impatiently until the elevator stopped and the doors finally opened.

Flinging herself out of the elevator, Nico rushed down the hall until she skidded right past the room. She quickly corrected herself and yanked open the door, panting heavily. "Darling! I- ... I made it..." The room was empty. A light breeze coming from the slightly-cracked open window made the curtains sway gently. To and fro, to and fro. "Eli?..."

Slowly she walked in, her feet only stopping when she stood next to the bed. The sheets were neatly made, but there wasn't anyone lying there like there was supposed to be. She looked around the room again, as if Eli was hiding and was going to jump out and surprise her. "E-Eli?"

"Mrs. Yazawa?" Nico jumped at the new voice, turning around to see a doctor standing in the doorway. He walked over to her and held out a small piece of paper. After a few seconds of hesitation, Nico took it and pulled it towards her chest, no longer wanting to meet the man's eyes. Somewhere in the back of her brain, she knew what was happening, but the rest of her brain was temporarily shielding her from the information.

"I was instructed by your wife to give that to you just in case. She's... in a better place now." Solemnly he nodded and left the room, leaving Nico alone. Slowly Nico unfolded the paper, her hands trembling as she read the words that were written in Eli's beautiful handwriting, still as prim and proper as it had been when they'd first met.

 _My dearest Nico, I'm just going to have to assume you're the one reading this, because I won't be able to check. I don't want you to worry or be sad, because everything's going to be fine. Now I know you'll probably be worried and sad regardless of what I say, but it at least gives me comfort to write it to you. Right now I'm sure I'm sitting outside the gates of Heaven, but I'm not going in without you. They'll just have to understand that I can't go in without my love, my best friend. No matter how long it takes, you know that I'll always be waiting for you._

 _P.S. I love you too._

Nico's entire body shook as she accidentally crumpled the piece of paper in her hands. Tears started to fall down her cheeks as she hurled the paper across the room, a sob wracking her body as it bounced off the wall and fell to the floor. She fell with it, falling backwards onto the bed with another sob, then another. It couldn't possibly have been so long, yet the bed didn't even smell like her anymore.

"I love you," she whispered into the emptiness, staring at the ceiling through misty eyes. She'd been late plenty of times, and every single time Eli had patiently waited for her. For the first time, however, she had been too late. The love of her life was gone.


End file.
